TheCurvyJones

At just about 20 months out, I drink a shake a day, sometimes two. I just cannot ingest enough food to hit my Protein goals and I got tired of being lightheaded and listless. I tried to dump them, but it was nearly impossible to eat enough food. I hope the OP is able to find a shake that works in the long term. I did recently decide to dump the bars.... there's too much sugar/carbs in them for me to feel comfortable eating them. I usually eat the special K bars. Atkins bars have lower sugar but my stomach just doesn't like them, so... no bars, just shakes for me!

I do pretty well with food. I hate the uncomfy overfull feeling so I stop when I'm satisfied. Jelly the Sleeve is not very tolerant of being overfull, so I just stop when I'm done. As far as what I eat... while I try to maintain Protein first, it doesn't always happen. I can murder a bag of doritos, so now I get an invididual bag, eat three or four and give the rest away. All I need is a taste and I am done. I am 19 months out and still losing, but I know I don't lose a lb or an inch if I don't move my butt. If I plateau it is because I have not been working out. That said, I FINALLY hit 100lbs down over the weekend! Very exciting. My personal goal is 169 and I am just a few lbs from that number. My surgeon would like to see me around 145............I laugh every time I think of that because uh.... I'd like to see that too. It's taken me FOREVER to get to where I am, so I'm bound and determined to be happy with the loss I've achieved and keep working toward my non scale goals. Hang in there, Dec Sleevers! We are all still on this journey!

I would do it again. I do mourn foods, not so much what KINDS of foods I can eat because I CAN eat anything I want. Mostly HOW MUCH OF IT I used to eat and still want to eat is what I mourn. My rule, pretty much, is 'I only need a taste'. And if I am honest with myself, after a bite or two I am done with whatever that was and there is no real impact on my weight.

I am over a year and a half out and if I don't take my PPI, there is hell to pay. For some, it goes away. For some it's a new friend.

First of all it's not up to them. Not at all so they can want until the cows come home... it's not up to them. Second of all your body is going to keep losing until it hits it's set point. That might be 170, or 150 or 137.5. Their opinions are moot and void. They can want whatever... and I guess you could work to stay where you are, but.....why?

Yes I went from Zantac to Prilosec and now Nexium.

A few people have weird reactions to eating/being full. I hiccup, some people sneeze, some people's nose runs. It's something to do with the VAGUS nerve. It is somehow irritated by food in your belly. I don't know if there is anything to cure it, but that's how my surgeon explains it. If you research VAGUS NERVE and WLS or VSG you'll find tons of people with weird symptoms like yours.

Not really. The idea that we can only metabolize X grams of Protein at a time has been pretty much debunked. Just know that post surgery, you will have to really work up to and exceed your protein goals. You won't come out of surgery chunking down 60-100 grams of protein. ETA in answer to your question, just focus on protein. All I EVER Counted was protein, since the rule is PROTEIN FIRST, that should not be a problem. As your sleeve heals, you will realize more capacity and you'll be able to eat more things, but your sleeve only holds 4-6 oz of food at a time. It'll take you a while to build up to eating a lot of protein a day. At 18 months out I honestly just barely make my protein count everyday and some days I can only make it if I drink two shakes.

Here's a great list someone started of companies that offer sample packets.

whey Protein is best but many people become lactose intolerant post surgery and have to switch to soy. You can get Protein drinks that are coffee flavored. I like the Peanut Butter or the banana from About Time. You can also get ISOPURE, it comes in different flavors. Some love it. Some despise it. I'm in the despise group!

She seems to be projecting. Not sure what your surgery has to do with her and her life. Her posts are very ME ME ME, this is how YOU doing something affects ME. Who the eff cares? If she was an actual friend, she would be supportive even if she didn't agree with the route you're taking. She was clearly only hanging around so long as she had someone to be 'better than'. The minute you started making decisions and doing things FOR YOU, ABOUT YOU, she turned tail. Ex friend is right. Ignore that bitter, projecting person and focus on your new life. It's gonna be awesome and soon you won't remember her name.

I was never into fat acceptance. I wanted to accept myself so I made the changes I need to make so that I'd smile when I looked in the mirror. I'm into self acceptance, fat or thin, tall or short. IMO (many) Fat Acceptance advocates don't support anyone making changes to better themselves. I never thought I was totally fabulous and hot to trot when I was fat. I hated myself. I changed it. I now accept myself.

1. Yes! I feel full, like I ate a house, after just a few bites (depending on what I eat, of course). The further out I am, the more bites I can eat before I feel full, but full feels the same. STUFFED, ATE TOO MUCH is uncomfortable. I try to avoid that feeling. 2. Handicapped... not at all. I mean, this is a Your Mileage May Vary thing.. some of us become lactose intolerant. Some of us can't digest bread or breading or anything wheat based. Some of us have a hard time with dry meats, like chicken breast. One of my friends can no longer eat any form of potato, sweet or otherwise. Strange, since she had zero issues before now and she is over 2 yrs out. Then there are people like me who have zero issues, sleeve wise. I watch my carbs and sugar because I am pre-diabetic, just like before surgery. I have no food or drink issues. I drink coffee and soda, some sweets on occasion, though my taste for them has completely changed! I have loved discovering the nuances of my sleeve. It's like a whole new being with a personality all it's own, so much so that I named mine. Her name is Jelly and Jelly is the boss of me! ;D 3. I can drink a glass of water... it takes some time. I have never been much of a water drinker. In the beginning you want to sip because your sleeve is swollen and you don't know your capacity. Too much and you'll be very uncomfortable. As time passes, our capacity grows. You probably won't be able to chug down a bottle/glass of water any time soon. But a glass of water should be no problem, months out. Though, I normally have to wait 30 mins to an hour to drink anything after eating. 4. Awhile back, I was thinking about my surgery and what type of mind I had to be in to think that this would be the answer for me. I concluded that I was absolutely positively NUTS. I went to Mexico and had a surgeon stab me five times and amputate an organ. And you know what? I'd do it again 100 times. Quality of life? BETTER THAN NORMAL. Life isn't perfect-- weight loss doesn't solve all of our problems, of course-- but I LOVE seeing the changes my body has made. I love wearing sizes I have NEVER worn before... I went from kid sizes to plus sizes in the blink of an eye. I did my 2nd 5K yesterday and it was no big thing. I have fitness goals and I STILL LOVE FOOD... I just get to be really choosy about what I eat now. Life is fantastic post surgery. Look forward to the New You, your New Normal... it's BETTER THAN NORMAL.

Yes because the trend is to bounce up a bit once you hit a low... I want to be able to scale within a healthy range for me, so if I get lower than goal, I have a bit of a window that I can fluctuate within and still remain in compliance with myself.

Spoonfuls. Like... I was amazed at how little I could eat and feel stuffed... 2 or 3 and I was down for the count, for at least a few hours. As for full, it's different for different people but you'll know beyond a shadow of a doubt that one more bite will spell trouble! For me, once I start to hiccup I know I am done.

Gas, plus stitches on the inside.... all normal pains. If you feel any hardness, any debilitating pain accompanied by fever or what have you, please see a doctor and as always consult your surgeon's office with anything serious!

Not at all. It just means you're normal. Give yourself a break and start again. There is no such thing as willpower. It's a decision. Either you're going to do this or you're not. Don't beat yourself up about being human... change does not occur overnight. You made it X days before... go for one more day this time around. Every SINGLE day, make the choice to stay on your path. Believe me, by the time you get your surgery date, it becomes SO REAL. When having your surgery is completely dependent on how you do pre-surgery, it clicks that switch in your brain that doesn't give you the option to back down. Good on you for already making changes. Press on! Tomorrow is a new day!

I drank them presurgery. I refused to buy large tubs of powder because I knew my tastes would change post surgery. I did get a lot of sample packets though and I sampled a lot just to get used to making shakes and drinking them. Post surgery I don't like the taste of a lot of RTD or powder shakes, but I still love ABOUT TIME Protein powder and Atkins Protein Shakes.

You're going to lose hair. Drinking Protein shakes won't stop that, don't let that NUT frighten you into harming yourself. If your body doesn't like the shakes you're drinking, keep sampling till you find one that works well with you. Right out of surgery there's no way to eat enough protein to satisfy your daily needs. You NEED the protein, so find a way to get it in... Isopure or protein bullets are another option. You can also take Biotin and hair, skin, nails Vitamins but HONESTLY... you're going to lose hair. Guaranteed. You may be able to SLOW the loss or prod your hair to grow more to replace what you're going to lose, but drinking shakes and taking pills won't stop hair loss. You won't be bald and really a lot of people won't notice. The number of people that complain about losing a lot of hair still have full heads of hair to me.

Receiving compliments gets easier. And fun! I think we all have to make a concerted effort to demarc the line between what used to be us and what is us. We're no longer responsible for what used to be us, so we're not reacting to it at all. I'm not accepting compliments anymore, thinking that the caveat is that I was so huge before that I wasn't pretty. No more of that. And when people say, hey you look nice today............not that you didn't look nice before....I stop them. Hey. Don't qualify your compliment by trying to boost the self esteem of a woman long gone. Just give the compliment and let it stand.

You might also find that your body prefers liquids at a very cold temperature. I much prefer a water ice cold than room temperature.

Yes some days I can eat a lot (like before my cycle) and some days I have no capacity. According to my surgeon the sleeve is like any other organ and is affected by things like atmosphere, humidity… There are days when we have higher and lower capacity based on the atmosphere around us. Sort of like when lap-banders fly and they feel their band tightening because their stomach swells.

Aside from something like Gas x, not sure! It's a common problem.

The kind of stuff they look for is a person who is desperate to have the surgery because they think it'll solve ALL of their problems. Your approach is realistic and founded in real life. You've already taken some of the steps you needed to take.... and I would encourage you to continue counseling AFTER your surgery because drastic life changes + a surge in hormones from weight loss made me feel crazy! I see a lot of people exhibit "OH MY GOD You need some time on a couch" behavior, post surgery.

I am a year and a half (just about) out and I still take Prilosec every day. Depending on what I eat or drink I can skip it. My sleeve doesn't like coffee or anything acidic. Right when I am about to say it's better, I get really terrible heartburn! That said it does get easier to manage. I was on a double dose of Zantac (especially at night) but I switched to Prilosec and it's gone much better.